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Tag Archives: diastolic pressure

Today I’m a nurse and want to do a little teaching. What did you think when you read my title? Did you think about getting so mad you wanted to blow up? Well today we are going to chat about when you actually blow your top because you have ignored your blood pressure.

We all have a blood pressure. If we didn’t we wouldn’t be walking around. If any of you have ever had low blood pressure you know it sometimes makes you feel as if your legs weigh 500 pounds apiece and you can barely drag along. When your blood pressure is high in the first stages, it also makes you barely drag around. Your head can feel light as if it’s not on your body, or you could have a non-ending headache. Sometimes they are really bad but most of the time they’re aggravation to you. I venture to guess that a majority of time these little things are ignored until bigger problems begin. This seems to happen more with men than woman since they don’t like going to the doctor’s office.

I know a young man now that is in his mid 20′s, smokes, and his blood pressure is consistently above 140 systolic (top number) and 100 for the diastolic (low number). He has been told many times what is happening to his body but he chooses to ignore it since he doesn’t feel any different. The sad thing is I know this handsome young man is a walking time bomb.

For you who may not know about what the blood pressure actually is, I will explain it the best I can. The top number of the blood pressure is the Systolic pressure. What it represents is the amount of pressure that is put against the vessels when the heart pumps it out. The Diastolic pressure is the amount of pressure that remains in the vessels when the heart is resting between beats.

Because his pressures are high all the time his vessels throughout his body, but especially in the brain, are under constant pressure which stretches and thins them. At some point in the future without the hand of God touching him he will rupture a vessel. All it will take is a pressure higher than normal and he will literally blow his top. It can happen anywhere in the brain. I’m sure all of you have seen people who have had strokes. There are those that are so severe that they can no longer walk or speak and most of the time end up with a g-tube into the stomach for feeding. There are others who are paralyzed on one side or blind. All depending where the vessel ruptured. It’s not a pretty picture, but it happens to far to many of us, both male and female.

I know everyone has heard that salt is one of the biggest contributors to hypertension, and so is smoking. Having constant stress in your life is another big factor. Then there are those that it doesn’t matter what they do and how good their lifestyle is their blood pressure is out of site. Even children are having problems with their blood pressure and that has to do with the food we are feeding them.

I for one do not want to be one of those people who have a stroke. I have all the risk factors, I’m overweight, I eat too much processed food, and the list could go on forever. Do yourself a favor and go to webmd.com or any other medical program on the web and read about the symptoms of hypertension and how you can control it. Have your blood pressure checked often and if it is above 140 for the top number and higher than 85 for the bottom number, talk to your doctor. It could save you and your family a lot of sorrow.

Today I’m a nurse and want to do a little teaching. What did you think when you read my title? Did you think about getting so mad you wanted to blow up? Well today we are going to chat about when you actually blow your top because you have ignored your blood pressure.

We all have a blood pressure. If we didn’t we wouldn’t be walking around. If any of you have ever had low blood pressure you know it sometimes makes you feel as if your legs weigh 500 pounds apiece and you can barely drag along. When your blood pressure is high in the first stages, it also makes you barely drag around. Your head can feel light as if it’s not on your body, or you could have a non-ending headache. Sometimes they are really bad but most of the time they’re aggravation to you. I venture to guess that a majority of time these little things are ignored until bigger problems begin. This seems to happen more with men than woman since they don’t like going to the doctor’s office.

I know a young man now that is in his mid 20’s, smokes, and his blood pressure is consistently above 140 systolic (top number) and 100 for the diastolic (low number). He has been told many times what is happening to his body but he chooses to ignore it since he doesn’t feel any different. The sad thing is I know this handsome young man is a walking time bomb.

For you who may not know about what the blood pressure actually is, I will explain it the best I can. The top number of the blood pressure is the Systolic pressure. What it represents is the amount of pressure that is put against the vessels when the heart pumps it out. The Diastolic pressure is the amount of pressure that remains in the vessels when the heart is resting between beats.

Because his pressures are high all the time his vessels throughout his body, but especially in the brain, are under constant pressure which stretches and thins them. At some point in the future without the hand of God touching him he will rupture a vessel. All it will take is a pressure higher than normal and he will literally blow his top. It can happen anywhere in the brain. I’m sure all of you have seen people who have had strokes. There are those that are so severe that they can no longer walk or speak and most of the time end up with a g-tube into the stomach for feeding. There are others who are paralyzed on one side or blind. All depending where the vessel ruptured. It’s not a pretty picture, but it happens to far to many of us, both male and female.

I know everyone has heard that salt is one of the biggest contributors to hypertension, and so is smoking. Having constant stress in your life is another big factor. Then there are those that it doesn’t matter what they do and how good their lifestyle is their blood pressure is out of site. Even children are having problems with their blood pressure and that has to do with the food we are feeding them.

I for one do not want to be one of those people who have a stroke. I have all the risk factors, I’m overweight, I eat too much processed food, and the list could go on forever. Do yourself a favor and go to webmd.com or any other medical program on the web and read about the symptoms of hypertension and how you can control it. Have your blood pressure checked often and if it is above 140 for the top number and higher than 85 for the bottom number, talk to your doctor. It could save you and your family a lot of sorrow.